Being a good mom- it’s something us moms think about every day. How can we be the best mom for our kids while still remaining sane and happy ourselves? We’ve all heard the extreme parenting methods... allow your child self-soothing time for a minimum of 7 hours a day. Or maybe you should feed them a diet exclusively of organic grass-fed kale salad from birth on. My advice on how to be a better mom doesn’t include any of that. It’s much simpler really. There's one important tip many of us are missing out on...

Eat.Your.Placenta.

Yup, that’s right. Consuming your own placenta can help you be a better mom for your newborn and certainly to any older siblings at home. Some studies, and a great deal of personal experiences, leads us to believe that consuming your placenta can help…

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had the energy to play Barbie’s with your 4 year old while you nursed your newborn? What if your hormones were so balanced that you regained your patience when you’ve been up all night with a teething kid? There’s so many ways that consuming your placenta can help you navigate through your journey of motherhood. And the good news is that you don’t have to convince your husband to BBQ your placenta (eww). We’re here to help with that (not the bbq'ing though)! When you hire us as your placenta encapsulation specialists we will pick up your placenta from the hospital or your home, process it, and deliver your new supplement in a pretty little package. Completely safe with no added ingredients or weird things- just 100% amazing, healing placenta. But you don’t have to tell anyone that’s what it is. ;) You can always pretend it's that weird kale diet.

The most common question I receive from clients is in regards to the placenta encapsulation method. Which method should I chose? What are the differences? Which is better? Here is an unpretentious breakdown of the two most common methods. If you are encapsulating with a doctor of Chinese Medicine it is a great idea to speak with them about the methods they recommend for your and your placenta. Most encapsulation specialist are not experts in that field and instead provide a basic steamed method to encapsulation. Below you will find the pros and cons to steamed and raw encapsulation methods.

Raw placenta before either steaming or slicing for dehydration.

Raw Method

When preparing a placenta with the raw method the placenta is cleaned thoroughly, sliced very thin, and then placed in the dehydrated. There are varying techniques to dehydrating but most specialists will follow similar guidelines. Typically the placenta will be dehydrated at 160 degrees for the first 2-4 hours and then 120 degrees until it is done. The belief behind this method of preparation is that, by choosing not to steam the placenta, essential nutrients and hormones are not damaged with high heat.

Steamed Method

Also called the traditional Chinese method (TCM), during the steamed encapsulation method the placenta is first cleaned and then steamed at a low temperature alone or with ginger, lemon, and hot peppers. After steaming for a short period the placenta is thinly sliced and then dehydrated at 160 degrees for the first 4 hours and 125 degrees until done.

Raw method benefits:

Highest potency of the nutrients and hormones- you may need a smaller dosage of capsules.

High yield of capsules- they may last longer.

Potentially gives the mother more energy due to high nutrient content.

Steamed method benefits:

More likely to kill any bacteria on the placenta.

Used for centuries with traditional Chinese medicine encourages heat for the postpartum mother, which allows the uterus to seal, for blood to flow to the areas of the body that need healed, and Qi to replenish.

Is thought to warm the body

Steamed method cons:

Placenta is exposed to potentially harmful heat.

Smaller yield.

Raw method cons:

With a lack of heat, bacteria may not be destroyed during preparation.

Still not sure which method is best for you? Contact your local placenta encapsulation specialist to see which method they recommend. At Palouse Placenta we find the two methods to have similar results and rarely recommend one method over the other.